Jake Gyllenhaal Reportedly Saves Dog’s Life After It Ran Into Busy Intersection

Jake Gyllenhaal might have been a villain in Spider-Man: Far From Home, he showed his heroic side when he saved a dog in New York City last week. The Oscar-nominated actor jumped into action on Thursday when he saved a Dalmatian from certain doom. Gyllenhaal has previously admitted to being a dog lover, so it’s no surprise he put his own life at risk to help one.

A source told Page Six that Gyllenhaal saw a scared Dalmatian standing in the middle of a busy intersection in Tribeca at around 10:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Witnesses said the dog was on a leash, but got away from its owner, who struggled to control the three-foot-tall dog.

“I noticed that it was Jake Gyllenhaal, and I saw him turn and look into the street — I thought he was trying to flag down a cab or something,” the witness described.

Gyllenhaal was trying to get the dog’s attention, but it would not budge from the middle of the road. The witness said the dog “was in shock or something.”

The Nightcrawler actor walked away from the woman he was spending his day with and stepped into traffic, forcing drivers to stop their vehicles. Gyllenhaal picked up the leash and walked the dog back to its owner. The two then talked about the best leashes to get to make sure that never happens again.

“He really was a hero,” the witness said.

Although Page Six‘s witness described the dog as a Dalmatian and Page Six‘s photo showed Gyllenhaal standing next to a white dog with black spots, The Cut confirmed it was not actually a Dalmatian. Three feet is too tall for a Dalmatian, so it was possibly a Great Dane with spots.

“You are correct that is a Harlequin Great Dane,” Laurie Isaacson of the Great Dane Club of America told The Cut.

Gyllenhaal is known to own several dogs, including two dogs named after To Kill a Mockingbird characters. He named a puggle Boo Radley and a German shepherd Atticus.

“I love dogs, I just love them. They are so playful. I think they bring that out in us, if we allow it. I don’t think I’m that playful, generally. I need to be reminded of it. So, they remind me of that,” Gyllenhaal told W Magazine last year. “When I housebroke my dog, it was probably one of the proudest moments I’ve had. [At least] of the past three years. It was such a tremendous triumph.”

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